Mandalay spitting cobra facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mandalay spitting cobra |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
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Naja
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| Species: |
mandalayensis
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The Mandalay spitting cobra (Naja mandalayensis) is a special kind of spitting cobra. It is also known as the Burmese spitting cobra. This snake lives only in the Dry Zone of central Myanmar.
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What's in a Name?
The Mandalay spitting cobra was first named by scientists Wolfgang Wüster and Joseph Bruno Slowinski in 2000. The first part of its scientific name, Naja, comes from a Sanskrit word. This word, nāgá, means "cobra". The second part, mandalayensis, is Latin. It refers to the city of Mandalay in Myanmar. This city is a big place where these cobras live.
What Does It Look Like?
This cobra is a medium-sized snake with a strong body. Adult snakes are usually about 1 to 1.2 meters (3.3 to 3.9 feet) long. Some can grow up to 1.4 meters (4.6 feet) long.
Its head is shaped like an oval and is a bit flat. It has a short, round snout and big nostrils. The body is a bit flat from top to bottom at the front. It becomes more round towards the tail. The scales on its body are smooth.
The Mandalay spitting cobra is usually yellowish-brown to dull brown. It often has darker brown spots. Its belly is pale with some dark specks. Under its chin and throat, it is often dark. Then there is a lighter area, followed by two or three dark bands on the underside of its hood. This snake usually does not have clear markings on the top of its hood. However, young snakes might have a mark that looks like eyeglasses.
Like other spitting cobras, it has special front fangs. These fangs are made for "spitting" venom.
Where Does It Live?
This snake lives only in the central Dry Zone of Myanmar. This area includes the Mandalay, Magway, and Sagaing Divisions. The Dry Zone is a special area with its own climate. It is smaller than 20,000 square kilometers (7,700 square miles). Based on where these snakes have been found, their home range is about 18,500 square kilometers (7,100 square miles).
Its Home Environment
The Mandalay spitting cobra lives in the central Dry Zone of Myanmar. This area gets less than 1,000 millimeters (39 inches) of rain each year. The land here has acacia trees and small dipterocarpaceae savannas. However, much of this land is now used for farming. Mandalay spitting cobras have been found in dry forests and areas with dry acacia trees.
How It Behaves and What It Eats
This cobra is mostly active at night. It hunts for food during the evening or at night. During the day, it usually stays still or basks in the sun.
When threatened, the Mandalay spitting cobra is very alert and defensive. It quickly raises the front part of its body. It also spreads its wide hood. It does not take much to make it spit its venom. This snake can spit venom at least 2 meters (6.6 feet) away. Besides spitting, it will also hiss loudly and charge forward. It might even try to bite.
This snake mainly eats toads and frogs. But it also eats other snakes, small mammals, and sometimes even fish.
About Its Venom
Scientists do not know much about the venom of this specific cobra. However, since it is a spitting cobra, its venom likely has properties that can damage cells (cytotoxic). It also probably affects the nervous system (neurotoxic).
